Madrona Venture Group is pumping $3 million into a new mobile gaming platform called Z2Live, an extension of the stealthy Seattle startup Zero260 that we discussed back in March after it raised $1 million. TechCrunch reports that the company -- led by Seattle startup veteran David Bluhm and former Microsoftie Damon Danieli -- plans to announce the funding Thursday. 

Interestingly, I was chatting with Matt McIlwain of Madrona today (check back early Thursday morning for more news on Madrona) and he hinted that a follow-on investment would be announced shortly for one of its portfolio companies. He declined to offer more details, but I bet this is it. (In fact, the Seattle firm also has another new financing deal in the works, and I am working on chasing that down too. Let me know if you have more details).

I have an email into Bluhm and Madrona's Paul Goodrich -- who led the last round in the company -- and will update the post when I hear more.

For now, here's how the company -- incubated at Madrona's office and hiring aggressively -- describes what they are doing.

Z2Live is the Premier Multiplayer Gaming Platform for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. It provides game developers with a full set of services to implement subscription-based social and multiplayer user experiences such as game lobbies, leaderboards, invites, push notifications, achievements, NAT traversal, text chat, voice chat and presence.

Furthermore, Z2Live enables a user-paid subscription service enabling developers to make money on a monthly basis instead of a one-time payment for their game. In addition, Z2Live provides Best-in-Class marketing support and full analytics to further ensure your ongoing success.

Interestingly, I heard from another entrepreneur in Seattle today who said they were working on something very similar. (This could get interesting).

Meanwhile, Zero260 -- at least how it was pitched a few months ago -- is attempting to create a development studio of sorts for iPhone apps.

"We are not trying to see if something sticks to the wall," said Bluhm at the time. "We understand that we are going to have to do a lot of things to grow into that ecosystem and to be successful in it, rather than just throw some things out there and hope for the best."

But paidContent reports that the company -- which has shifted its name to Z2Live -- has given up on the idea of creating individual iPhone apps.

UPDATE: Madrona's Tim Porter confirms the $3 million investment.

"We think bringing a true multiplayer experience to mobile games is a large, exciting opportunity, and that Damon, David and team are extremely well suited to win in this space," Porter said. The company also issued a press release on the funding.

More on Z2Live service in this video.